tance, he saw a rider approaching, wearing
a familiar T-shirt. He kept looking, think-
ing it might be someone he knew. When
he saw that it was Paul, at first he couldn’t
believe it. “What the shit?” he said, as Paul
rolled up, grinning.
It was perfect that Cam was there. In that
moment Paul was as happy as that day he
first won Crankworx 12 years ago, on his
best friend’s bike. “To be able to get on a
bike, and pedal again, it was probably one
of the highlights of my life,” he says.
- – –
HIS DAD’S CHILDHOOD joke had
finally come true: Paul still couldn’t walk
without a cane, but he could ride. As he
started mountain biking again, he figured
out how to compensate for the things his
78 BICYCLING.COM • ISSUE 5